Posted on February 11, 2010 in Face, Facelift
General Information about Facelifts (Rhytidectomy)
Everyone ages at a different rate and has different feelings about the aging process. Although a facelift doesn’t stop the aging process, it may help a woman whose face looks prematurely old. In our youth-centered culture, it may also be important to slow down the aging process as much as possible for professional or personal reasons. Since all surgeries have inherent risks, however, it is important that you choose to have a facelift because you believe it will improve the quality of your life. You should never undergo the risks of surgery to satisfy someone else’s image of who you ought to be.
Having Realistic Expectations
If you are thinking of getting a facelift, consider the following questions: Are you healthy? Do you smoke? (If yes, you need to stop smoking first.) Are you generally a happy person with a positive, upbeat viewpoint? Would non-surgical rejuvenation techniques postpone or eliminate the need for actual surgery? How would you be able to deal with it if more surgeries became necessary? Since a facelift is temporary, are you at peace with that?
Facelift Types
The official name for a facelift is a rhytidectomy. The goal of a facelift is to help you look younger by removing fat and wrinkles from your face and neck. Sometimes a facelift is done in conjunction with a brow lift and eyelid surgery as well.
During a traditional facelift, the surgeon makes incisions on the edges of both sides of your face, starting at the temple and ending below and behind the ear. The surgeon works under the skin to tighten muscles and sculpt or remove fat. The surgeon removes extra skin, repositions the remaining skin, and closes the incisions with sutures or glue.
During a limited incision facelift, the incisions are shorter and start a little lower on the face. The surgeon might make additional incisions at the lower eyelids and below the upper lip.
During a neck lift, the surgeon begins the cut in front of the ear lobe and ends the cut behind the ear. This allows the surgeon to get to the fat and loose skin under the chin and on the neck.
Posted on February 10, 2010 in Face, Facelift
There is no question that there has been great progress in minimally invasive and non-surgical procedures to help you look younger. But if you’ve developed jowls and a double chin, and your face is lined with deep creases, the time may be right for a full facelift.
Non-surgical rejuvenation treatments certainly have an important role: they may help delay the time at which a facelift becomes appropriate. They may also complement the results of surgery at some point. But these treatments cannot achieve the same results as a facelift.
First: a caveat. A facelift is NOT right for everyone. The first and perhaps most important criteria is a realistic attitude. A facelift will not change your fundamental appearance, nor will it stop aging altogether, although techniques we’ve perfected may last more than a decade.
The ideal candidate for a facelift has good facial skin elasticity, is in good physical health, is psychologically stable and a non-smoker.
At the Robert Zubowski MD Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a facelift is a highly individualized procedure. Essentially, it consists of lifting skin away from the fat and muscle underneath it. Excess fat is removed, and the tissue and skin is re-secured. For some people, a facelift may also involve a combination of procedures to help erase that double chin, for example, or eliminate the bags under your eyes. Every person is different, and we work with them – and computer programs — to make sure that they know what to expect once they are fully healed.
We also take the time to help ensure that the facelift you are considering is being done for the right reason: for yourself – not to make a partner appreciate you more or to fit an idealized vision of what you should look like.
Getting a facelift will smooth out wrinkles, remove fine lines around your eyes, correct that saggy chin – results you will see in the mirror each day. If your facial features don’t reflect the energy and spirit you feel, a facelift may be the right move to turn back the hands of time and feel better about yourself.
Posted on December 6, 2009 in Face, Facelift
You may be among the scores of plastic surgery patients accustomed to compliments about your “ageless” countenance. If the acclaims have stopped and you’ve noticed facial sagging and a flabbier neck, maybe it’s time for a redo.
With improved surgical techniques, a properly performed facelift can last longer than a decade. At the Robert Zubowski MD Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Paramus, NJ, we routinely perform primary and secondary facelifts.
Reasons for a do-over are as diverse as the personalities of the patients who request them. But at our Paramus, NJ Center, many of our patients cite two reasons most often. The first is obvious. Time marches on, and after years of enjoyment, age has caught up with the initial benefits of the procedure. The other reason is that the patient was never happy with the original results.
Some plastic surgeons perform the same procedure in the same manner on every patient, not taking into account the physical uniqueness of each face. Others may not properly evaluate the underlying musculature, working with it to provide a longer lasting result. And still others may simply tighten the face and thin the neck to give a less natural, “wind swept” look. With over 20 years of experience in plastic surgery and general surgery (we are board certified in both), we’ve developed an artistic eye that allows us to customize each patient’s facelift.
At the Robert Zubowski MD Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, we counsel patients that undergoing a facelift is not the final step in their facial rejuvenation. That’s why we include post-surgical lymphatic drainage massages in the procedure’s cost. Our skincare department can develop a home care program thoughtfully built around medical grade skincare products that will hasten your recovery and keep the compliments coming for years to come.
